Bihar appoints ‘mitras' to protect its endangered Ganges dolphins

Patna: The endangered Ganges river dolphin in Bihar will now have new ‘mitras' or friends, who will create awareness for the conservation of a species that is India's national aquatic animal but frequently falls prey to poachers.

The Bihar government took the decision after four of the animals were killed two weeks ago.

An autopsy of the four dolphins revealed they were trapped and beaten to death as they bore several marks on their necks and heads.

Seeking a report on the incident, Environment and Forest Minister Jairam Ramesh had asked the state government to come up with a plan of action for the protection of dolphins.

The forest and environment department decided to appoint 20 dolphin ‘mitras' in selected villages near the Vikramshila Gangetic Dolphin Sanctuary, spread over 50km along the river Ganga in Bhagalpur district.

Set up in 1991, the country's first dolphin sanctuary has reported frequent cases involving the killings of the aquatic animal.

"Dolphin ‘mitras' [will] be appointed in villages between Sultanganj and Kahalgaon to create awareness to save dolphins in the sanctuary," C. P. Khanduja, conservator of forest (Bhagalpur division), told IANS over telephone.

He said the mitras would be appointed for a period of 10 months and would be given Rs500 (Dh40.7) per month in compensation as a source of encouragement.

Khanduja said dolphin ‘mitras' would also be responsible for providing information about security-related matters concerning the sanctuary, particularly attempts to intentionally kill dolphin, if any.

State Principal Chief Conservator of Forests B. A. Khan said forest department officials will involve residents as well as NGOs in strategies aimed at creating awareness to stop the killing of dolphins.